Trip from Cincinnati to Louisville on Monday, 4/25, involved a couple of bad choices on roads, so we managed to make a two-hr. trip into four hours, but we were in no hurry. Got to see the Kentucky River valley up close.
This is being written on Monday, 5/2, so those who care already know how the Kentucky Derby came out. Last Wednesday I made an early morning trip to Churchill Downs to watch the early morning workouts. Had a brochure with a pass to the grounds and, as luck would have it, parked just outside the barn area and walked right in. It reminded me of going to the Albq Balloon Fiesta -- I walked around among the stable crews and horses wherever I wanted, just like walking amongst the balloons and balloon crews. That was a pleasant surprise.
As I was wandering around among the barns, which are located along the backstretch of the track, I met a horse with a rider who I'm pretty sure was Calvin Borel, heading for the track. He wasn't on Super Saver, on which he won the Derby on Saturday, because time was reserved later for Derby horse workouts, but I think it was him because he had that Calvin look and I had read that Calvin doesn't just ride races; he rides early morning workouts for trainers he works for. I refrained from hollering, Hey, Calvin! Let me get a picture. I knew I wasn't going to see Eddie Arcaro, so Borel is the only jockey I could have recognized. Here he is in his workout ride.
Tuesday had been a rainy day, as you can see. More to come. Incidentally, Super Saver is a WinStar Farm (which we visited near Lexington) product, born, bred, and owned. Kentucky is particularly happy that a local horse and rider won the Derby.
In another stroke of luck, on the way down town I happened to tune to a radio station covering the Derby and they said that the Derby and KY Oaks horses (the latter race is on Friday for fillies), would work out after 8:00 am. About then, the track was cleared, so I knew to move to a viewing platform. All around me knowledgeable talk was going on about the Derby. Made me wish I'd paid more attention to the California horse people on our horse farm tour.
First they had a tractor pull.
As I was heading out, I happened upon this gentleman painting the scene.
I watched him work and a couple of women came along and struck up a conversation with him. He's from New Zealand. Ladies asked what he would be doing with the picture. Said he would probably sell it to pay for groceries. A little later, one of the ladies asked him how much it would sell for. He said he'd probably get around $3000. Pretty good cart of groceries, I said. Who are you? they asked. Peter Williams, he told us. When I got home I googled him. He's a famous painter, known for painting on site to capture a track's ambiance.
Here are some Derby barn scenes. Hot bath, new shoes, and a snack.
I left feeling like I had gotten a pretty good introduction to the Churchill Downs scene. Now, if I had just bet on Calvin and Super Saver, I might be shopping for a Peter Williams picture.
Cheers,
Rob and Susie Easterling
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